The preparation of sauces, gravies, puddings, spreads and dips and similar foodstuffs typically requires manual stirring for lengths of time, particularly during cooking over heat, to prevent scorching, boiling over and/or the formation of lumps. Such manual stirring is tedious and impractical for the cook in the commercial, restaurant or home kitchen where other activities beckon. Currently available blenders or mixers do not conveniently permit concurrent cooking or heating while mixing and typically agitate at speeds greater than those needed for stirring of semi-liquid foodstuffs.
In the art various domestic manual and electric operated food mixers are known including portable devices as well as stand mixers. U.S. Pat. No. 4,854,717 to Crane and Liddell discloses a hand-operated mixing and folding device. Design Patent No. 338,371 to Thomas depicts a portable food mixer with a housing containing the motor for operating two beaters. U.S. Pat. No. 4,822,172 to Stottmann and U.S. Pat. No. 4,277,181 to Stahly et al. disclose variations of a stand mixer having a horizontal housing holding the motor. These prior stand mixers do not permit agitation of foodstuffs in a pot or pan cooking over a heat source because the agitating elements are limited in position over a bowl or pan placed in the base of the stand directly under the elements. The portable food mixer such as disclosed by Thomas requires the operator to hold the device over the utensil containing the food.
Devices are also known for stirring the contents of a pan over a heat source. Representative devices include those disclosed by Stephens in U.S. Pat. No. 3,357,685, Pankow in U.S. Pat. No. 3,421,743, Mihalyi and Wexler in U.S. Pat. No. 3,656,974, Will in U.S. Pat. No. 3,697,053, Aries in U.S. Pat. No. 3,783,770, Lambert in U.S. Pat. No. 3,810,605, Nearhood in U.S. Pat. No. 4,151,792, Detmer in U.S. Pat. No. 4,184,779, Kurland in U.S. Pat. No. 4,339,992, Herbst and Wolens in U.S. Pat. No. 4,417,506, Linn in U.S. Pat. No. 4,429,624, Kemple in UK patent application GB 8230160, Chauvin in U.S. Pat. No. 4,576,089, McCauley in U.S. Pat. No. 4,832,501, Bordenga in U.S. Pat. No. 4,921,356, Tarlow in U.S. Pat. No. 5,013,158 and Wells in U.S. Pat. No. 5,332,310.
These prior stirring devices, while permitting stirring of food in a utensil while cooking, all require direct and substantial engagement of the device with the utensil to support the body of the stirring device during use. For example, these known devices typically engage the lip or rim of the heating utensil. Alternatively, the stirring appliance disclosed by Wells, U.S. Pat. No. 5,332,310 requires that the stirring mechanism rest on the bottom of the saucepan to support the device. An extension of the handle of the stirring device also engages the handle of the saucepan during use to prevent rotation of the device during operation.
Accordingly, the present invention provides a new and improved free-standing motor driven stirrer appliance that does not require attachment or engagement of any part of the appliance with the utensil holding the food for stirring, and does not require the operator to maintain contact with any part of the appliance during operation. The only element inserted into the utensil is the stirrer element. Thus, the stirrer appliance of the present invention is more convenient than prior devices because it is not cumbersome to operate or remove, for example to stir food in other utensils, and can free the cook to perform other activities for periods of time.